How To Do Your Own House Viewings

When your house is listed for sale, it can feel a little uncomfortable to think that you’ll have strangers coming to look around. It can also be daunting to think that you may have to conduct at least some viewings yourself.

Even the best estate agents will sometimes ask you to conduct a viewing without them, usually to cover out-of-hours viewings or when they get too busy to fit them all in. You don’t want to miss out on a potential buyer, so, when you can, you should eagerly accept.

For one thing, you know your house better than anyone. That means if you take a little time to understand how to do your own house viewings, you may just find you can sell your property much better than any estate agent.

So, here’s a few tips that should put your mind at ease. They’ll be particularly useful if you are selling through an online estate agent that doesn’t offer hosted viewings as part of the sales package.

Make Your House Presentable

There are a number of things you can do before a viewing to put your house in the best possible light. Things like tidying up the garden, getting those odd jobs done, putting away the washing, etc can all make your home more inviting.

You can even put some bread in the oven just before a viewer arrives and put some calming music on in the background to make your property feel cosy and relaxing. Make sure you’ve read our guide on how to get higher offers for your property.

Ensure A Warm Welcome

First impressions are extremely important. From the moment your potential buyer pulls up outside, to the moment they leave again, they are judging your property.

They aren’t there to judge you, but your friendliness will have a direct impact on how comfortable they feel in your home. That means you should relax, smile, and give the potential buyer a warm and friendly welcome.

Make Them Feel At Home

The more ‘at home’ viewers feel when looking around your property, the easier it will be for them to picture themselves living there. And that means the more likely they’ll be to put in an offer.

Don’t be afraid to ask them to take off their shoes. Not only will this help them feel more like they already live there, it will help you keep the property clean for future viewings.

Understand Your Viewers Wishlist

What kind of properties have your viewers been looking at? What are they looking for in a property? Who will be living there?

Your estate agent may be able to get the answers to these questions on your behalf when the viewing is booked.

Failing that, try and drop them into casual conversation with the viewer. Just try not to bombard them with questions as soon as they walk through the door!

Once you know more about your visitors wants and needs, it will become clearer how your property will work for them. This may affect the order in which you show them around the property or the features you point out.

Start With The Best Part Of The Property

To some degree, the layout of your property will affect the order in which you show people around your house. However, where possible you should try and get people to the best part of your house as quickly as possible.

Got a great view from a bedroom? Start with the upstairs first. Got an amazing feature fireplace in the living room? Take people straight to it.

It’s easier to get people to overlook a negative if they’ve already fallen in love with another part of the house.

Don’t Be Shy About Mentioning Positives

Most people tend to be a little shy about pointing out the good parts of their home. They don’t want it to seem like boasting or make the viewer feel like they are being sold to.

However, when done correctly, it can be very effective at turning viewings into offers. In fact, you have a better chance of succeeding than your estate agent simply because you know your property better than they do.

So, don’t just tell viewers that “this is the garden” tell them“the garden is south facing so it gets the sun all day, we’ve had some great evenings sat on the patio having a few drinks with friends while watching the sunset.”

You’re not pushing anything on to people, you’re simply pointing out how you’ve enjoyed the space. Think about the parts of your property that you’ve loved the most and think how you can best mention them to viewers.

Counter Any Negatives

If a viewer mentions a negative, see if you can counter it. For example, the negative of a kitchen being small may be able to be countered by explaining how a wall could be knocked down to open up the space.

Even if the viewer doesn’t mention a negative, they may still be thinking it.

If you sense a viewer has spotted a negative, counter it with a positive. But, don’t go overboard with negatives as you may point out things people hadn’t otherwise considered.

Don’t Take Offence

Everybody has their own list of likes and dislikes when it comes to their ideal home. Don’t be offended if someone views your property and doesn’t like everything about it.

It’s natural that some people will find your house doesn’t meet their needs, others will want to change things that you love to make it fit their lifestyle.

This isn’t a slight against you, so don’t take it as one.

Give Viewers Time Alone

You should always first accompany people around the viewing. This gives you chance to answer any questions, point out the positives of your home, and guide people to the best rooms first.

However, once you’ve finished the ‘grand tour’, tell the viewers that they should feel free to have a wander around on their own if they wish.

It will be much easier for people to picture themselves living there without you shadowing their every move. Just be sure to make sure any valuables are safely locked away.

Answer All Questions

Interested viewers will often ask a lot of questions. This can be a very good sign so never get annoyed and always try and answer the questions the best you can.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, write it down and promise to find out to get back to the viewer as soon as you can.

Don’t forget to ask the viewer if they have any more questions at the end of the viewing and let them know they are welcome to ask you any questions they think of later. Tell them that they can also arrange another viewing if required.

If a buyer asks you a question you are not comfortable of answering (such as those revolving around asking prices or offers), ask them to discuss with your estate agent.

Selling Is Easy When You Know How To Do Your Own House Viewings!

As you can see, selling your home is not that difficult once you know how to do your own house viewings.

You already know a lot about your property and what makes it a good purchase for the right person. Use that to your advantage and you won’t go far wrong!

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